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Should Kyle Busch be suspended for Texas crash?
Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Should Kyle Busch be suspended for Texas crash with John Hunter Nemechek?

By Samuel Stubbs  |  Last updated May 4, 2026 12:22 PM ET
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NASCAR does not approve of drivers wrecking their peers intentionally and has had no qualms in recent years about suspending them for doing so. Kyle Busch could be the next driver to get an unanticipated one-week vacation. 

With two laps to go in Sunday's Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway, Busch, appearing to think he was clear of John Hunter Nemechek on the backstretch, came up into Nemechek, which led to both drivers getting a piece of the wall. 

Busch, who ran in the top 10 for much of Sunday's race, was not happy. He made contact with Nemechek in turn 3, sending Nemechek around and into the outside wall. NASCAR did not throw the caution flag. 

It's not the initial contact between the two, but the second instance that NASCAR could look at. Busch could try to say that his car was broken after the initial contact with the backstretch wall, which could be plausible.

John Hunter Nemechek calls out Kyle Busch in social media post

But it also looks as if Busch turned hard to the right going into turn 3 to intentionally make contact and show his displeasure with Nemechek, which could lead to NASCAR taking action and suspending Busch for the May 10 race at Watkins Glen. 

Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott were each suspended for right-hooking competitors at 1.5-mile tracks in 2022 and 2023, respectively, while Austin Cindric was given a $50,000 fine and a 50-point penalty for hooking Ty Dillon at COTA in 2025.

Busch did not hook Nemechek, but still made heavy contact with him, which led to a hard impact for Nemechek into the outside wall. 

Nemechek, understandably, did not appreciate Busch's move. 

"Not freaking clear," Nemechek said in a social media post. "Great day going. and just got wrecked. What an a**."

Busch and Nemechek finished 20th and 21st on Sunday, respectively.

Samuel Stubbs
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Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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